Rotary card holder



March 31, 1964 R. D. MCINTOSH 3,126,364

ROTARY CARD HOLDER Filed Dec. 4, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 go 32 7 F4 2 FIGI INVENTOR.

. FIG. 2 ROLAND'D. MQIN OSH v I v ATTC-DR'NEYS March 31, 1964 D. MclNTosl-l 3,126,864

ROTARY CARD HOLDER Filed Dec. 4, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORN EYS United States Patent 3,126,864 ROTARY CARD HOLDER Roland D. McIntosh, 136 Front St., Bath, Maine Filed Dec. 4, 1962, S81. No. 242,308 Claims. oi. 116-133) This invention relates to a rotary card holder designed to enable a fuel oil dealer to keep track of his customers need for oil so as to make deliveries each day where oil is needed and to avoid permitting any customers tank to become empty. The device hereinafter described is an improvement over a somewhat similar device described and claimed in any application Serial No. 107,- 203, filed May 2, 1961, for Degree-Day Dispatcher, pursuant to which application Patent No. 3,073,282 was granted January 15, 1963.

T he present structure is simpler than the other in some respects and is designed to operate for customers who use oil for heating a hot water supply as well as for househeating. For this purpose, two concentric disks or wheels are employed, each having a series of radially arranged compartments on its peripheral margin to hold customer cards on which are noted the name and address of the customer and an estimate of the number of degree days which normally elapse between tank-fillings for that customer.

It is an object of the invention to supply a device which is simple but effective for indicating daily which customers are presumably in need of having their supply of fuel oil replenished, th device being adapted to apply both to those who use oil for house-heating only and to those who also use oil for heating a domestic hot water supply.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description thereof and to the drawings, of which FIGURE 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a section, 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a section, on a larger scale, on the line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the upper disk shown in FIGURE 1, on a larger scale; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of a sector of the two rotatable disks shown in FIGURE 1.

The device illustrated on the drawings comprises a horizontal base which is a disk of any suitable material such, for example, as ply-wood. Concentric with the disk 10 and independently rotatable are a lower disk 12 and an upper disk 14. To facilitates rotation of the disks on the base, a ball bearing 16 is provided between the base and lower disk and a ball bearing 18 between the lower disk .12 and the upper disk 14. The diameter of the base 10 is greater than that of the lower disk 12 so that the margin of the base extends out beyond the edge of the lower disk. An annular ring 211 is supported by a number of posts 22 above the margin of the base. On the upper face 24 of the ring are indicia consisting of uniformly spaced radial scale marks with numerals between them to indicate degree-days by tens from zero to 1800, for example. The margin 26 of the lower disk 12 is similarly marked, as indicated in FIGURE 5. Fixed on the disk 12 within the margin 26 is an annular ring 28 on which are mounted partition elements 30, 32 in vertical planes which are radial with respect to the axis of rotation, these partition elements being uniformly spaced to correspond to the scale divisions on the margin 26 of the lower disk 12. The partition elements form narrow compartments in which one to twenty or so cards can be placed on edge and maintained on a larger scale, on the line 3,126,8h4 Patented Mar. 31, 196% "ice in an upright position so as to be easily grasped, the height of the cards being sufficiently greater for this purpose than the height of the partition elements. The elements 30 extend from an outer cylindrical element 34 to an inner cylindrical element 36. To facilitate the taking of cards from any of the compartments, the outer element 34 does not extend upon the upper edges of the partition elements 31 32. For the same reason, the elements 32 extend inward from the element 34- only part way to the inner cylinder 36, the inner portion 38 of the top edge of the partition elements 32 sloping downward and inward as indicated in FIGURE 2.

The upper disk 14 is provided with the same number of radially arranged partition elements 40, 42 as the number of partition elements on the lower disk 12, the elements 40, 42. being mounted on an annular ring 44 fixed on the disk 14 within the margin 46 of this disk. On the margin 46 are scale divisions and numerals similar to those on the ring 20 and the margin 26 of the lower disk 12. The partition elements 40 extend radially from an outer cylindrical partition element 48 to an inner cylindrical partition member 50, the partition elements 4-2 extending partway inward as the elements 32 do on the lower disk.

A simple clamp is provided to hold the lower disk 12 against rotation with respect to the base 10, the clamp consisting of a rubber tip '54- on the end of a screw 56 which is threaded through a block 58 on an extension 69 of the base 10. The tip 54 can be pressed against the edge of the lower disk v12 by rotation of the screw 56, a finger piece 6-2 being mounted on the outer end of the screw for this purpose.

Clamping means are also provided to hold the upper and lower disks against relative rotation. For this purpose a lever 66 is pivotally mounted at 68 between the angle pieces 70, 72 secured to the under face of the upper disk 14. A vertical screw 74 is threaded through a block 76 mounted on the disk 14 within the area defined by the partition element 50. The lower end of this screw bears on the lever 66 near the pivot 68, the lever extending radially outward nearly to the periphery of the disk 14 for maximum effectiveness, the lever having a rubber pad 78 at its outer end to press down on the upper face of the disk 12 so as to bind the disks 12, 14 together. A spring 8ft presses against the inner end of the lever 66 to rock it upward when the screw '74; is retracted. A finger piece 82 is provided on the upper end of the screw 74.

The numbers on the ring 28* and on the disk margins 26, 46 progress counterclockwise, the zero on the ring 20 preferably being located near the clamp 54. The o erato-r will ordinarily be near the clamp. The cards which are to be carried by the disks bear data for use in servicing the customers of a proprietor of a business for supplying fuel oil. Each card bears the name and address of a customer and also a number derived from expenience in supplying the customer, the number indicating the number of degree-days which will ordinarily accumulate between deliveries to that customer. The cards of customers who use the fuel oil for house-heating only are placed in the compartments on the lower disk 12. Customers who use fuel oil for maintaining a domestic supply of hot water as well as for house-heating are placed in the compartments on the upper disk 14.

In using the device, the degree-clay figure for each day is estimated at the beginning of the day and the number is entered in a record book. Except in very cold weather when the extra fuel required to provide hot water is negligible, the finger-piece 32 is manipulated to release the clamp that holds the upper disk against rotation relative to the lower disk. The upper disk is advanced clockwise a a definite amount found by experience to be the average requirement for maintaining for one day a hot water supply in a house. The upper disk is then clamped to the lower disk, the clamp 54 is released, the two disks are rotated together in the clockwise direction an amount corresponding to the degree-days estimated ior the current day. The cards which are thus brought to or beyond the radius through the zero mark on the ring 20 are taken out of the compartments and the names and addresses th reon are noted for deliveries of oil on that day. These cards are then replaced in compartments which are then radially aligned with the scale numbers on the ring 20 corresponding to the numbers on the several cards.

The reported degree-day figure for the preceding day is entered in the record book as well as the estimate for the current day. The reported figures are added up from day to day so that the sum on any day is a check on the number on the margin 26 of the lower disk then opposite the zero point on the ring 20. Thus any small errors in advancing the disks cannot become cumulative if a daily comparison is made between the total degree-day figure in the record book and the scale number on the lower disk 12 which is opposite the zero mark on the ring 20.

The device is designed to be placed on a stand or table, the operator sitting near the zero mark on the ring 2% When cards which have been removed from compartments are to be replaced in their compartments, the latter are determined by number on the ring 20 corresponding to the number on the card. To avoid con- [fusion with the numbers on the lower and upper disks, these numbers are arranged to be partially hidden from the operator seated near the device. Thus in the sloping line of vision of the operator toward the adjacent portion of the device, the margin '26 will be partially hidden by the ring 20, and the margin 45 on the upper disk will be partially hidden by the upper part of the cylindrical element 36 which is preferably tinted or made opaque for that purpose. When either of the disks is to be rotated, the operator can readily lean over the device sufiiciently to see the portion of the appropriate scale by which the amount of rotation is to be measured.

If a device such as has been described has compartments which are too small to hold all the cards which are to be put into one or more of them, a second pair of lower and upper disks with compartments as described can be mounted sufiiciently above the first pair to allow ready access to the compartments of the first pair.

I claim:

1. A rotatable card holder comprising a base, a lower disk rotatably mounted on said base, said disk having indicia on its peripheral margin, a series of radially extending partition elements on said disk forming compartments [for holding cards on edge, clamping means on said base operable to clamp said disk against rotation, an upper card-carrying disk concentric with said lower disk and rotatable independently thereof, and means operable to clamp the two disks together for rotation as a unit.

2. A card holder as described in claim 1, the last named means comprising a lever pivotally mounted on the bottom of the upper disk and extending outward from the pivot, said lever having a friction pad at its outer end, spring means 'yieldingly holding said pad up from contact with said lower disk, and means on said upper disk operable to look said lever down to press said pad into clamping contact with said lower disk.

3. A card holder as described in claim 1, sm'd upper disk having indicia on its peripheral margin.

4. A card holder as described in claim 3, said lower disk having a cylindrical partition member thereon adjacent to the edge of the upper disk and rising above said edge for partial concealment of the indicia on the upper disk.

5. A card holder as described in claim 4, and an annular ring mounted on and spaced above the peripheral margin of said base at a level above that of the lower disk and overlapping the peripheral margin of said lower disk tor partial concealment thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 823,426 Meilicke June 12, 1906 1,372,100 :Sifiert Mar. 22, 1921 2,080,857 Bear r May 18, 1937 2,606,240 Larkin Aug. '5, 1952 3,073,282 McIntosh Ian. .15, 1963 FOREIGN PATENTS 272,845 Switzerland Apr. 2, 1951 405,032 Germany Oct. 25, 19 24 

1. A ROTATABLE CARD HOLDER COMPRISING A BASE, A LOWER DISK ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID BASE, SAID DISK HAVING INDICIA ON ITS PERIPHERAL MARGIN, A SERIES OF RADIALLY EXTENDING PARTITION ELEMENTS ON SAID DISK FORMING COMPARTMENTS FOR HOLDING CARDS ON EDGE, CLAMPING MEANS ON SAID BASE OPERABLE TO CLAMP SAID DISK AGAINST ROTATION, AN UPPER CARD-CARRYING DISK CONCENTRIC WITH SAID LOWER DISK AND ROTATABLE INDEPENDENTLY THEREOF, AND MEANS OPERABLE TO CLAMP THE TWO DISK TOGETHER FOR ROTATION AS A UNIT. 